


A Pack of Fools and Dreamers

by FeralPen



Series: Fodlan Foursomes (Sedoretu-verse) [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Emotional Infidelity, F/F, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Miscommunication, Multi, Polyamory Negotiations, Sedoretu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:54:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25591618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralPen/pseuds/FeralPen
Summary: The Ashen Wolves are a matched set - Morning and Evening, Men and Women. It's only natural that they'd consider making Sedoretu.A.k.a. Balthus has a lot of feelings, and everyone loves the King of Grappling.
Relationships: Balthazar von Adalbrecht | Balthus von Albrecht/Constance von Nuvelle, Balthazar von Adalbrecht | Balthus von Albrecht/Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc, Hapi/Constance von Nuvelle, Hapi/Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc
Series: Fodlan Foursomes (Sedoretu-verse) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1833721
Comments: 7
Kudos: 20





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I finally played through Cindered Shadows this month, and I fell in love with the Ashen Wolves, especially Balthus. And if any if these crazy Three Houses kids are going to end up poly and dating, it's these ones. So I continue my Sedoretu train.
> 
> This doesn't necessarily take place in any of the four possible routes. I keep it purposefully vague. It also doesn't necessarily take place in the same AU as In Defiance of Tradition, but it can if you so choose.
> 
> Please enjoy.

He's pretty sure that you're supposed to talk about this kind of thing.

In all the stories about marriage, it's all about romantic poems and rambling speeches of love and devotion. The big, strong men each take their wives and together they join their marriages into Sedoretu. The heroes save the day, everyone goes home happy, the last lady sings, and the opera is over.

Well, from what he understood. 

Admittedly, his only real knowledge of Sedoretu is his dad's own rocky attempt to make it work, and a few glimpses of commoners that are somehow happy-ish. Nobles don't generally do that outside of the Leicester Alliance, and the big families there still tend to go for pairs. Pairs are much less messy for lines of succession. Still, that's the ideal, right? Finding your husband and your wives and living happily ever after.

Happily ever after never seemed to work out that way in real life. Real life was messy and confusing, and sometimes you think everything's fine until the next debt collector comes to slit your throat and you find yourself diving underground - literally - to keep your head attached. Balthus isn't the most plan-heavy guy, but even he's impressed by how badly he's managed to mess things up.

Not that it's all bad. Really, Abyss is probably the best home he's ever had. Once you get past the rats and the poverty and the knife-happy ruffians, that is. There's rotgut to swill, plenty of gamblers as equally broke as him, and he's somehow gotten wrapped up in enrolling back into school. Unofficially, of course. He's sure the Archbishop would have something to say about the "uniform jacket with no shirt underneath" look he has going if he was a real student up on the surface. It wasn't a look he would have gone for as a teenager, anyway.

There's the rub, isn't it? He's not a teenager anymore.

He loves Yuri and Constance and Hapi. They're great kids. Been through a lot. It's made them seem older than they are, and they're some of his best friends. It's just that he's about eight years older than all of them. It wouldn't be a problem, but…

But he's a cad.

Deviant. Horrid. Perverse. Nothing too frightening - there's much worse types hiding in Abyss. But a real gentleman wouldn't follow Yuri with his eyes so closely, wouldn't note the swell of Constance's bosom under her uniform. He would say he can't help it - he's a young, virile Morning man with two gorgeous Evenings right in front of him - but that's a cowardly way out. He wonders if Hapi has the same problem. He's not desperate enough yet to ask.

It all starts to fall apart after Aelfric. Everything does in one way or another. They part ways and immediately seem to come back, back to Abyss. Back to helping Byleth with their strange problems. It's enough like old times for nostalgia, but different enough to keep him on his toes. Then the war happens, and Edelgard goes crazy, and the Archbishop's gone, and Dimitri's run back to Faerghus, and Claude's just barely holding the Alliance together, and forgotten somewhere in the middle of all of this is Abyss. What else can they do but stay to hold everything in place and keep the underground town running as best as they can? And that's when Yuri makes his move.

He's drinking, but he can't blame it on the liquor.

He wants to blame the liquor. It's good stuff, not the homebrewed shit you find in Abyss. Yuri brings it to him with mischief in his eyes and two glasses in hand.

"Drink with me?"

He is so ridiculously gorgeous. How could he say no? Besides, when had he ever said no to good liquor and a pretty face to drink it with?

"This is high quality booze. Kingdom?"

Yuri's smile is catlike. "A man has to have secrets."

"Not about dumb stuff like that." He downs his first glass of smooth, burning whiskey. He grins when Yuri holds up the bottle to refill his glass. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion. I just didn't want to drink alone." 

He finishes his glass much more slowly than Balthus. He watches the apple of his throat bob up and down with a mouth that suddenly feels dry. There's a little bit of spirits still shining on his lips when he lowers the glass. He looks away. The table under his elbows is pitted and scarred with old knife marks.

"Drinking alone is no fun, yeah. Much better to have some company."

"I agree."

He's just setting his now-empty glass back on the table when he hears the other chair scrape on the stone floor. Yuri walks around the table and sits himself on the edge. He's so close that he could grab his thighs and drag him down onto his lap. His hands itch to do so. He cranes his neck to look him in the eyes instead. A cat with canary feathers in its mouth would look less smugly self-satisfied than Yuri.

"Refill?"

"Um, sure." His cheeks are flushed, but he's had more than this in one sitting before. It's not the alcohol. He takes the glass from Yuri's fingers and takes a long sip - and chokes when those same fingers reach down to stroke lightly across his abs.

"Boss?"

"Let's cut to the chase," Yuri says. He trails his hand up to ghost over his pectoral. His smile is vicious when he boldly tweaks a nipple. "I've seen you looking, and I know you've seen me looking."

He had, yes. It was hard to miss. Yuri was an endlessly selfless man and never took care of himself, but he'd never had any shame about wanting sex. He'd draped himself on the professor, yes, but Balthus had also gritted his teeth through watching him take flings to bed before. He'd consoled himself with his own flings. Age-appropriate flings. _Yuri is just nineteen years old._

"You had too much to drink, Boss?"

"Obviously not." He rolls his eyes. "Look, I'll say all the words: I'm barely tipsy, I want this, nobody's pressuring me into this. Happy? Unless you're not willing. Tell me you don't want to fuck, and we'll forget the whole thing."

His mouth starts to move, but he can't do it. 

He's only a man. He'd blame the alcohol, but two and a half short glasses hadn't made him drunk. Yuri's hand had moved away from him, so it wasn't that. No, it's all him that decides to reach out and touch those lovely thighs and look directly into those purple eyes and shake his head.

"I'm not unwilling."

"So that's a yes?"

A better man would say no.

"Yes," he says.

That tiny, perfect mouth turns up at the corners. It's in a dreamlike stupor that their mouths connect in a kiss that is already rough and desperate and lewd out of the gate. Yuri is a trickster in every respect. While his mouth is distracting him, he darts out with both hands to paw at Balthus's chest. He growls into the kiss and finally grabs those perfect thighs, dragging him down off the table and into his lap.

"That took less encouragement than I thought," Yuri says when they're gasping for breath again. 

"A man has limits. You're so damn pretty, Boss."

"Oh yeah? Tell me more, O King of Grappling." He flexes his thighs, pulling himself still closer and looping his arms over his neck.

"Not much for talking." He punctuates the statement by gripping Yuri's hips and grinding upwards, startling a chuckle out of him. "More of an action guy."

"Bold words. Alright, show me what you're made of."

For the first time, he actually pauses. They aren't exactly in the most private space. It's just an unused room to the side of the main hallways with an old table and some chairs and a little fireplace. Anybody could walk in, though he doubts that they would. Abyssians mind their own business.

"Here?"

"You shy or something?" He presses himself flush against him and grinds down. "I'm not feeling patient."

Well, what man could argue with that? Balthus decides to drop his worries and spend the next bit of time at the mercy of his very flexible and well-prepared little friend.

It's easy. Surprisingly so. The transition between just friends and comrades to pinning the same friend down on a table shouldn't feel so natural and honestly fun. It only hurts his heart a little when they part ways again. Yuri straightens his clothes and lets him kiss him one last time on the lips before he disappears, leaving the bottle and glasses behind. So much for cuddles and sweet nothings. Balthus takes the unspoken gift as his consolation prize.

The next morning, he meets Yuri in the classroom, and Hapi is also there. Yuri looks at him with the same wary expression he'd save for one of Hapi's beasts.

"Good morning, friend. Sleep well?"

Balthus isn't a stupid man, looks to the contrary. He reads the message loud and clear: don't be weird about this. He puts on an easy grin and meets his eyes directly.

"Like a baby, Boss. What's on the agenda for today?"

It stings just a bit, but the nonchalance comes easy. Yuri smirks and gives him the slightest nod before he continues debating with Hapi about what to do about a flooded section of halls deep beneath the main thoroughfare. Balthus keeps his mouth shut. Yuri's been through enough unnamable shit that he doesn't even consider for a minute breaking his trust and acting weird about their liaison. If he wants casual and safe, he gets casual and safe.

Nothing really changes much after that.

The Ashen Wolves still protect Abyss. That doesn't change, even as the surface world goes insane. There's more refugees now. Bounty hunters still hound him whenever he decides to travel - more desperate now that the war's disrupted the flow of coin. He opts to stay in Abyss. Just now, he sometimes has Yuri in his bed.

Yuri laughs it off like it's a big joke.

"You're very good at grappling," he says teasingly, "and you know all my favorite wrestling moves. 'Sparring' with you is the highlight of my day."

"Right back at you, pal," he says. It would come out more cavalier if they weren't both naked and uncomfortably sticky. "Anytime."

Something in Yuri's expression softens, and he looks away.

"Yeah… Anytime. Thanks, friend."

He gets the feeling that there's more to what Yuri's saying than that. His heart aches to tell him that he's crazy about him, but he bites his tongue. He'd just scare him off. He leans up instead to plant a smooch on his forehead. Then, to lighten the mood, he rolls up and out of bed to flex his muscles flamboyantly. That, at least, earns an amused scoff.

He's surprised that neither of the girls have said anything. They're not exactly hiding their trysts from them. It just never comes up. It would probably be awkward, anyway. He'd assume that Constance just doesn't notice, preoccupied as she is with her research, but she's a smarter girl than that. Hapi just watches everything with those big eyes of hers darting from Yuri to Balthus to linger on Constance before moving back to Yuri again. He wonders what she's thinking. He's still not willing to ask.

Of course that's when Hapi decides to shake things up herself.

It's a peaceful evening. They'd cleaned out a nearby camp of bandits that was threatening the old monastery grounds and attacking Abyssians. Constance decided afterwards to throw an impromptu victory party, and none of them had the heart to say no. With the war, excuses to celebrate are few and far in between. She brews a pot of the best tea leaves she can find, and Hapi scrounges up some pastries. Yuri brings a rabbit to roast. All Balthus has is some Abyss-brewed liquor, but he brings it anyway.

"I got a letter from Linny today," Hapi says.

That's surprising. Balthus looks up from his job of turning the spit to encourage her to continue. Constance even lowers her fan.

"What did dear Linhardt say?"

"Oh, you know. Typical Linny. Asked if he could have a blood sample and rambled about Crests. Didn't even mention the war in the Empire."

"Sounds like Linhardt," Yuri scoffs, "He's always been an odd one."

"I'm just glad he's alright," Balthus chimes in.

"So no news from the war at all? Oh, I did hope he would have something interesting to say. I'm simply dying for news of my beloved Empire."

"Well, he did have some interesting news…"

Balthus meets Hapi's eyes. She smirks at him before she turns her attention back to Constance.

"At the very end, he threw in a little offhand mention." She makes a show of looking casual. "Little Linny's making Sedoretu."

You could hear a pin drop. 

They all began talking at once.

" _Linhardt?_ I didn't think he had it in him."

"Wow. Good job, Linny. I'm impressed."

"Sedoretu? But we're at war!"

Yuri snickers. "Love and marriage wait for no war, I guess."

"But it's simply not done!" Constance is indignant. "Who is he - Sedoretu? In the _Empire_ of all places! It's outrageous!"

"It's not that outrageous," Balthus breaks in, "People make Sedoretu back in the Alliance all the time."

"Not in the Empire, though."

"I don't see why it's such a shock," Hapi says, picture of nonchalance. "I mean, we've got a full set to make Sedoretu right in this room."

Constance blanches. Balthus immediately looks at Yuri, who has frozen with a carefully blank expression on his face. 

"That's - That's preposterous."

"It's just a fact. B, the rabbit's burning."

"Shit." He cranks the spit again.

"I know it's a fact," Constance says, "I've just never considered it to be important. How ridiculous would that be?"

Hapi rolls her eyes. "Not that ridiculous, considering that B and Yuri-bird have been fucking for years."

Balthus makes an aggrieved noise. Now he can't look at Yuri. He does look at Constance. Her face is now as bright as a tomato. She hides behind her fan.

"How vulgar. I mean to say - oh, Hapi how can you be so crude?"

"Hapi," Yuri says calmly, "Stop stirring up trouble."

Hapi's poker face doesn't crack. "Maybe I'm just tired of ignoring the wyvern in the room. You can't tell me you've never thought about it."

Balthus stares very hard at their rabbit dinner. Mostly because Hapi's right. It's probably his loneliest, most pathetic fantasy, dragged out and exposed. Not the most fleshed-out fantasy, but still. He'd thought of it. Yuri's crumbs of attention and affection ignited the idea even more. He tries not to look at Constance with his lecherous gaze, but he knows a losing battle when he sees one. She's vivacious and so smart, and as pretty as a morning glory. It isn't far-fetched to daydream of a Sedoretu set with those two. The Ashen Wolves are a close-knit group, and the math there is simple. He was just never ever going to bring it up.

"Have you ever considered trying a little tact?" Yuri steps forward into Hapi's space. "You don't just throw ideas like that out into the open. Besides that, whatever Balthus and I get up to is none of your business."

"Yeah, but you can't say you haven't had the idea of Sedoretu, too. Not after all the stargazing and holding hands and all that romantic nonsense you did with me." 

The bottom drops out of Balthus's stomach. His hands go still on the spit, but he ignores the smell as the rabbit starts to singe. Yuri doesn't deny her. He doesn't look at Balthus, either. It's like he's not even there.

Hapi continues blithely, "And we all pretend we don't see Coco drooling on B's abs whenever she gets the chance. It's practically a miracle she hasn't jumped him yet."

Constance snaps her fan shut with an audible click. Her face has progressed beyond tomato red and straight into beet. She throws her fan with as much force as possible directly into Hapi's face.

"You- You're such a brute! As if I'd make Sedoretu with any of you!"

She whirls around in a storm of ruffles and stomps for the door, but not before all of them see the tears brimming up in her eyes. She's gone, then, and Balthus is on his feet and chasing her before he can think. He doesn't want to think, anyway. Not about Yuri and whatever budding courtship he has with Hapi. Stargazing? Hand-holding? Is that how it is? That's what she gets, and here's good old Balthus for a quick fuck and some easy banter with no messy questions attached. He dashes some moisture from his own eyes and follows the fleeting glimpses of Constance's skirts through the halls of Abyss.

They finally stop at the exit. Constance's shoulders tremble. He lifts a hand to touch them, but thinks better of it. They stand in silence while he tries to think of the right thing to do.

Finally, he brusquely says, "Sun's set. Let's take a walk."

He doesn't look at her directly. Without her fan, she has no way to hide her blotchy red face. He walks ahead, up towards the fresher air of the destroyed monastery grounds. He hears a loud sniffle behind him.

"Taking a walk is foolish. There may be bandits out here yet."

He forces a grin for her and turns to flex a beefy arm. "Don't you worry about that. The Relentless King of Grappling is ready to kick ass even without his gauntlets."

She sniffles again, but she sounds less watery when she replies, "Language. Really. And must you speak about yourself in the third person?"

"You're one to talk, Constance von Nuvelle."

The moon is nearly full, and there's not a cloud in the sky. It's enough to illuminate the abandoned dormitories. They pace through the empty space in silence for a moment. He lets her lead. They meander to the great bridge leading to the cathedral and stop there. Wordlessly, they look out over the chasm.

Balthus doesn't know what to say. He's a man of action, not words. All he can do is wait and try to think of something to say that won't get him pushed off of the bridge.

"I'm sorry Hapi attacked you like that," she says out of the blue.

He startles, but she's still gazing into the chasm.

"It's fine," he says.

"It's not, really." She stretches her arms out over the ledge. They both seem so tiny in the vastness. "Can you tell me something? Is Sedoretu really done in the Alliance?"

He scratches one of his sideburns. "Yes and no? The major lords still act like they're part of the Kingdom, so it's not common there. Minor lords do it sometimes. My dad tried it, but it just complicated things."

"How so, may I ask?"

"Well, it's complicated anyway, but my mom was his Morning wife, and she was just a commoner. His husband's a wealthy merchant, and that guy's wife is from another noble family. I was set to be the heir, seeing as my dad's the actual lord, but the Evening wife was jealous and wanted her son to inherit instead. Her jealousy kind of tore the whole marriage apart."

"I see." She meets his eyes finally. They're red and a little puffy. "I suppose worries about just that are what stops high nobility from pursuing Sedoretu marriage."

"It makes sense, but I mean, you've ultimately got to follow your heart. What's the point of living if you're miserable?"

"That's easy for you to say. You have no responsibility on your shoulders."

"I don't, do I?" He scoffs and looks away from her, glaring up at the moon instead. "You really are too mean to me. It wasn't easy to have my inheritance taken from me, or to be separated from my mother. And it sure isn't a blast to be stuck in Abyss because people want me dead up here."

"...You're right. I was quick to spit out my harsh words. It was unfair. My apologies."

He scrutinizes her face for a hint of sarcasm, but she seems sincere. He sighs. 

"It's fine. I don't exactly look like the most responsible guy."

"I cannot argue that your appearance is perhaps more carefree than your situation would warrant. However, I must also remind you that you are a warrior without peer, a stalwart companion in the darkest of days. In short… you are a most cherished friend."

She's flushed red again by the end of her speech. The rare display of genuine emotion from her has his heart all aflutter. It distracts him from the stabbing ache that Yuri and Hapi had left behind. He dares to wrap an arm over her shoulder and pull her in for a one-armed hug against his side. She's so small - the smallest of them. It makes him smile.

"Aw, I love you too, Connie," he croons, "You're my favorite."

"Unhand me, you cad," she says, pulling away. Her face is even redder, and she refuses to meet his eyes. "Don't bandy your words about so casually! You exaggerate and it doesn't suit you."

"I'm not exaggerating! You're a mean little thing, but I like you."

"And you are a brute! If only your brain were a muscle that you may exercise to match your monstrous thighs."

A gust of wind whips against them. The bridge always dizzies him in its size and scale. He's grown too used to the dark and the cramped. Is there a future for them on the surface, or are they doomed to remain hidden forever? It's a question he doesn't like to ponder. He lets out a heavy sigh into the comfortable silence that's fallen between them.

"I'm going to restore my house to its former glory," Constance states suddenly, her eyes on the horizon, "and I plan to accomplish this on the merits of my own hard work, and not by relying on my marriageable prospects. To submit myself to bartering my most intimate self to the highest bidder in the hopes that their financial assistance will resolve my house's disgrace is frankly more than I can bear to imagine."

He nods in agreement. An arranged marriage wasn't ever something expected of him, but he supposes that would be different for a young Empire noblewoman. He doesn't like the idea of that. It's painful to picture stubborn, lively Constance stuck churning out Crest babies for some rich guy she's barely met.

"I'm only stating this so that my intentions are clear," she continues, "If I do entertain the notion of marriage, I would prefer to do so because it is an entanglement of my choosing rather than something I am expected to do."

"I think I see what you're saying." He turns so his back is pressed against the wall protecting them from the chasm with his arms spread out wide and casual. His jacket falls open to expose his torso to the cool night air, but he bears it with an easy smile. "Can I make a suggestion?"

Constance's eyes snap up from his abdomen to his face again. Her cheeks are still pink. "I suppose you may.

"Alright, but don't throw a spell at me if you get embarrassed. From the way you talk and everything, your family's pretty conservative, right? Did your parents ever talk to you about relationships, or was it all about duty and marriage and stuff?"

She blushes deeper again. "You are embarrassing, aren't you? I'm not entirely innocent of matters of the heart, you know. My parents did not lock me in a cloister and tell me babies come from a cabbage leaf."

"Yeah, but I think you just answered my question." He softens his grin to something less teasing and more earnest. "Look, I'm no love expert, but maybe you should relax a little. Don't worry about marriage so much. Just find someone you like to be around and have fun together. Not every relationship is gonna come down to weddings and cabbage leaves, you know?"

She slaps his arm lightly for the last comment, but she's smiling shyly. "Your unsolicited advice is… not entirely unwelcome. Thank you, Balthus."

"Anytime. Can we head back now, though? I'm freezing here."

"I suppose it's time." 

She lets him lean into her space as they walk. The tiny flame spell she casts warms him gently and lights their way. He gazes down on her blond head fondly, but she doesn't notice. She's a good girl, Constance, growing into a fine woman. Even if she is still a mean little thing.

"May I ask you one question, Balthus?"

"Sure."

"Are you… Does Yuri know how much you care for him?"

The innocent question strikes a blow that staggers him and freezes him in his tracks. Constance stops a pace later, looking pale and concerned in the firelight.

"I… don't think I want to talk about it," he says.

It hurts. He can admit to himself that he loves him a lot despite his best efforts to remain casual. It hurts to just be a dalliance. He wants more, craves more, perhaps even needs more. He'll just have to take what he can get. He never should have taken the leap, knowing Yuri for who he is, and himself for the lovestruck fool that he is. It was always doomed to end in him wanting more than he can ask for.

"Alright," she says softly, and he's surprised that she doesn't push for anything else.

She takes his arm lightly in hand and they walk back down into Abyss together.


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long! I actually have chapters 3 and 4 pretty much finished, and the epilogue half-written, but this second chapter needed extensive rewrites that I just finished this morning. I've been focusing a lot on my mental health this year, AND I work in the grocery industry, so I'm pretty much exhausted constantly.
> 
> Massive thanks to my commenters for kicking me in the ass and getting me to finish the rewrites. I didn't want to let you down! Please enjoy this chapter.

He's impressed with himself that he manages to avoid Yuri for two whole days.

The first day, he puts together a hunting party to head into the woods for more fresh meat. He'd normally bring Hapi with him to draw in more animals, but he isn't feeling like talking to her. She’s squirreled herself away somewhere, too, probably watching the chaos she’s unleashed with that droll expression of hers. Yuri's asleep in the men’s quarters when he goes, so he has an entire day of just him and some grappling friends. He gets to wrestle a bear, so it's fun. Bear meat isn't his first choice, but the pelt and the fight more than make up for eating greasy, gamey bear for dinner.

He doesn't return to Abyss until the afternoon of the next day. From there, he simply ducks into the most obscure tunnels and hallways he can in a bizarre game of cat and mouse. It's very early morning of the third day when he's woken up by the same purple-haired phantom he was hiding from. He rolls over and away from him with a groan.

"Really, Balthus? Sleeping in the potato bin?"

"Fuck off," he mumbles into his potato sack blanket.

"Very eloquent. Get up and talk to me."

"What for?" He sits up. He aches all over from his odd choice of sleeping arrangements, but he levels Yuri with an impressive glare nonetheless.

"You've been avoiding me."

"Yeah, I'm still trying to. Is it even morning yet? Leave me alone."

Yuri scoffs and crosses his arms. "I'm not leaving you here in a potato bin."

"Piss off. Get your own potato bin." He's being childish, but the last thing he wants to do is have a heart-to-heart - much less while he’s smudged with dirt and wedged in a pile of tubers.

"I'm trying to be patient with you, Balthus. I came here to apologize and everything."

"You got nothing to apologize for," he says stubbornly.

"If that's true, then why are you hiding from me?"

"I'm not hiding. I'm right here."

"You're sleeping in a potato bin. That's by choice?" He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "I had to bribe some of the kids to rat you out."

Traitors. He guesses his payoff of IOU's fell apart in the face of real coin. He finally crawls out of the wooden bin and furrows his brow mightily when a Heal spell washes his residual aches away. Yuri smirks at him.

"Are you going to stop acting like a child?"

"Probably never, Boss." 

He uses his superior weight and muscle advantage to push past him and through the door. He's not completely dense. He can hear him following him down the hall and into a populated area of Abyss. He ignores him in favor of giving the urchins a stink eye and sidling through to the room he'd claimed as his own near the scrap heap. An old straw mattress and a pile of gauntlets isn't much of a room, but it's his. Out of habit, he flings some Fire at the torches on his way in.

Yuri's foot blocks his attempt to slam the door behind him. He ignores him and flops onto his lumpy, deflated mattress to glare at the ceiling. The bed dips by his feet where Yuri takes a seat.

"You gonna keep ignoring me?"

He sighs and closes his eyes. "What's there to say, Boss?"

"You're upset."

"I'm not."

" _Why_ are you upset?"

"No reason."

"Are you mad about what Hapi said?"

Balthus opens his eyes. When he cranes his head, he can see Yuri there. His normal veneer of brittle confidence is subdued, replaced by some solemn thing. He stares down at his clasped hands.

"Are you embarrassed that she outed us so bluntly?"

He sighs and flops back down. "That's not what I’m upset about.. I don't care that she said that. I'm not embarrassed. Everyone with half a brain knew we were having sex. It's not something shameful."

Yuri's quiet for a moment. "So you admit that there is something bothering you."

His eyes snap open. He runs his statement through his head and curses.

"Fine, you got me." He heaves himself upright and scoots to sit cross-legged at the head of the bed. He focuses on the bright buttons of Yuri's jacket instead of his face. "I got greedy, is all. It'll work out."

"Will it? Talk to me, friend." He sighs, and those buttons rise and fall. "I can't fix this if I don't know why you're upset."

"There's nothing to fix." He swallows around the words that want to spill out. He's choking suddenly. The grogginess from sleep is gone now, and he doesn't know the right thing to say. "Like there's something broken. Like there's something to be broken. You can't fix it."

"I can tell when you're lying. You've got a tic. It's not… If you’d just tell me what had you upset. I haven't slept with Hapi, if that's what you're worried about."

Something in him snaps, and words rush out of him like floodwaters.

"Why would I worry? Why should I give a singular damn about who you’ve been fucking besides me? Is there some relationship here that you're being unfaithful to?" Wide purple eyes turn to his, but they're blurry and shifting. He blinks, and hot tears drip onto his face. He scrapes them off with a fist. "Is this what this is? I got the impression from you that this is just - just working out tension or something. I'm just an easy sucker who won't say no."

Yuri’s face grows somehow paler, and he looks sick. Whatever combination of words he hears from Balthus seems to shake him somewhere deep and foundational. His eyes rove everywhere but Balthus’s face, skimming the corners of the room near-manically. Balthus dashes more tears from his eyes and sniffs. Now that he's started crying, he can't stop. He’s a sensitive guy, okay?

"You feel like I've been using you?" Yuri finally breathes out.

"...I didn't say that."

"But you thought it." His next inhalation is a shaky rattle.

There’s something deeply wrong here, and as usual, Balthus has no idea how to fix it. Yuri’s body is present, but within just a moment his mind appears to have left him and gone to some other, darker place. It twists his gut to see him look so haunted, flinching from things that no longer exist. His fists clench. Not for the first time, he wishes he could travel into Yuri’s past and castrate whoever fucked him up so young. In the present, however, he can only watch as Yuri falls apart. Should he be pleased that Yuri lets him see him like this, trusting he’ll watch over him even when he’s like this? He’s not. He just feels tired.

He sighs, deep from his gut and wills himself to stop crying. He mostly succeeds, and he takes Yuri’s limp hand in his and squeezes it gently.

“Hey. You with me, Boss?”

The response isn’t immediate, but after a moment, Yuri squeezes his hand back.

“Good. Come on.” He gently tugs until Yuri is laid out on the bed beside him, trembling slightly with some unnamed terrors. He pulls him closer until the smaller man is burrowed against him. He strokes a soothing hand along his back, over and over until some bit of tension bleeds from his shoulders.

“...I’m sorry you had to see that,” Yuri mutters into his chest.

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.”

“Hush.” Balthus strokes his back again and sighs. “Look, we don’t have to talk about this now.”

Yuri makes a noise of protest, but he hushes him again.

“If you want to talk, you can,” he says, “but you don’t have to. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. You don’t… owe me access to whatever shit happened to you in the past, or whatever.”

“Even if it’s hurting you now?”

“ _You’re_ hurting now.” Balthus pulls back and looks Yuri in the eye. He’s still pale and clammy, but at least he looks more focused on the present. “Yeah, I’m upset, and yeah, I’m confused and hurt and whatever, but I’m not going to talk to you when you look like you’re about to lose your lunch on my gauntlets. It can wait.”

“It _can’t_.” Suddenly Yuri slithers out of his grip and up to sitting. He stares down with a fever-bright intensity. His hands shake when he grips onto Balthus’s jacket. “How can you ask me to wait another second when you've told me that you feel like I'm using you?"

“If I’m being used, then it’s not unwillingly,” he snaps back.

Yuri deflates a little. His hands relax their grip, and he looks away. When he speaks again, there's a trembling, forced casualness to his tone.

"It's funny how that works," he says, "How it doesn't feel like a prison at the time. How it's only when you try to leave that the bars squeeze down on you."

"Yuri-"

"Do you feel the shackles now, Balthus?"

He sits up straight again, but doesn't move closer. There's a yawning emptiness between them that he's too much of a coward to breach. Layers upon layers of emotional scar tissue - what can he say?

"I love you," he says.

It's a soft statement that echoes between them like the strike of a gavel. Yuri is turned half-away from him, still. The tension in his shoulders makes him seem rigid like a statue.

"Love?"

Balthus swallows, but his voice doesn't shake. "Yeah. I'm in love with you. Probably have been from the beginning. I never said it, though. Didn't know if that's something you were ready to hear."

Yuri shrugs one shoulder lightly and turns so he's less defensively crouched away from him. He still doesn't meet his eyes, staring instead at the far wall with a wry quirk to his mouth.

"Love is a strange word." He clenches his fist. "It's a word that's been thrown at me before. 'Love.' As if love excused the things they did to me. As if love was worth owning me and putting me into a cage. What does love even mean? Does saying the words magically make everything okay? Is it not enough to show yourself through actions rather than words?"

Balthus hesitantly reaches out and rests a hand on his knee. He isn't shrugged off immediately. After a moment, a slim hand covers his own.

"I think a lot of people use that word the wrong way," he says slowly. "I don't think I ever told you about my parents. The real truth."

Yuri's eyes finally meet his own. He looks confused by the subject change. At least it finally snapped him out of his glare at the stone. Balthus suddenly finds it hard to meet his eyes, so he stares at their hands instead.

"My father's the lord of Albrecht in the Alliance. Small region. Not too powerful or rich - mostly farmland and trade routes. Got the title, though. And my mom -" he swallows heavily under the crushing weight of a lifetime of secrets and hushing and forces himself on "-she's from Kupala."

"Kupala?"

"Yeah, uh… It's a small place. Hidden, kinda. They don't normally leave the area, but my mom did. And she got into trouble. And, uh, my dad rescued her. And then she got pregnant with me and they got married."

He scratches his neck with his other hand and focuses on the way Yuri's pretty, calloused hand has moved to clutch his own.

"I wasn't supposed to have a Crest, and my dad wasn't supposed to marry a commoner - much less one from a secret border town. So they kept it quiet, and they made sedoretu with my Otherfather and his wife, and, uh, it wasn't good. I was just a kid, but they all _said_ they loved each other, you know? But my mom was so sad all the time, and my Othermother could be… cruel. Petty? I mean, I saw them kiss each other and stuff, but they fought a lot - even more after my little bro was born. And then Mom left, and uh…"

He's rambling, but just thinking about that time makes him sick. He can still feel his Othermother's fingers digging into his shoulder like claws to keep him from running after his mother's wagon. The weight of years of casually being dismissed in favor of the younger son - and his father keeping quiet with a defeated slope to his shoulders. He tries not to remember, usually. Worse things have happened to him since. He shouldn't still care so much.

"Anyway," he says, voice hoarse, "I don't want to love like that. Loving someone like you own them? Fuck that. I don't ever want to trap anybody like that. So I love you, Yuri, but I don't need you to say it back. I just need you to know that I do. That I want to stay with you every day. Even if you never say it back. Even if you leave. At least I'll know that I wasn't too much of a coward to say it."

"You are many things, Balthus, but never a coward."

Gently and slowly, Yuri leans his weight against the firm line of his shoulder, and just that gentle pressure has him relaxing once again. He brings an arm up and around to pull the smaller man flush against his side and is pleasantly surprised when he doesn't flinch or pull away.

"Thank you," Yuri says.

He doesn't say anything else for long moments as they soak up each other's touch. Eventually, Balthus can no longer fight the urge to touch him more. He pulls him down closer until they're laid out on the bed again, Yuri completely covering his body with his own. It's without sexual drive that he pulls him in for languid kisses and strokes his hands over the planes of his face. Yuri's eyes are violet pools staring into his own, but they don't speak still as they simply exist together, basking in the intoxicating rush of simple human contact. He thinks he could stay like this forever.

"You're the bravest man I've ever known," Yuri murmurs, breaking the silence.

"Wrong. That would be you," he cheekily replies.

"I'm serious," he says, but there's a hint of a smile playing about his lips. "You're a remarkable man."

"Thanks, Boss."

"There hasn't been anyone else," he says abruptly, "in these years. Just you. In case you wondered."

"I haven't had anyone else, either, but I don't think it really matters that much. I wouldn't have been mad if you _had_ had other flings. You're your own person."

"You know, a lot of men say that, but coming from you, I almost believe it."

"Why would I lie? Oh, wait, was that a compliment? Then yeah, whatever you just said."

"You're such a fool, Balthus," he mutters fondly.

"Maybe. But that's what you like about me, right?"

Yuri snorts and meets his eyes with a smirk. He's pieced his mask back together, but mostly he looks tentatively happy. He shifts his weight to press a kiss to his hairy jaw.

"I suppose it is," he says wickedly, "That, and your massive cock."

He chokes on his own spit and coughs directly into Yuri's face. The comment and his disgusted face sends him into howling laughter. Yuri spends another moment looking like an aggrieved cat before he joins him. When the laughter finally dies, he feels a stone lighter.

"So, we're officially dating each other, right?"

Yuri sobers instantly. "I believe we are, yes?"

"In that case, I have one request."

"What is it?" 

"Now that we've decided that this is a relationship, we're going on some dates!" His eyes widen in surprise and he presses the advantage, "I'm talking flowers, chocolates, holding hands… Everything we missed out on!"

"You want to go on dates?"

"Exactly. I might even write some poetry."

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

"Probably. But it's worth it, right?"

"Yeah," Yuri says slowly, sinking down to snuggle against him again, "I think it is."


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! It's amazing how hard it is to scrape together writing energy even when almost the entire chapter is done. The next chapter is pretty much finished, too, so hopefully soon. Just have to write the rest of that epilogue.

It takes a few weeks for things to settle down again.

Hapi and Constance circle each other like a pair of fighting cats. They snip and snipe at each other whenever he sees them. He tries to bridge the feud, but he just gets clawed in the crossfire, so he decides to sit this one out. Yuri just watches the two warily and says nothing. It eventually seems to work itself out. One day they're fighting, and the next, they're friends again. He decides not to question their good fortune.

True to his word, he drags Yuri out on what counts as the town. Honestly, it's not much different than what they did before, just with more swooning on his part and eye rolling on Yuri's. He does buy him some chocolates and goes into the woods for a bouquet. He comes back with another bear he fought and a smashed bunch of dandelions, but it's the thought that counts, right? Yuri certainly didn't reject a new pair of bear-fur mittens.

Yuri is tense and wary, but that, too, settles down. He still blushes sometimes when Balthus moons over him, but after a few weeks without anything terrible happening, he relaxes minutely into a sort of wary comfort. That's when Balthus finally brings up the Hapi Situation.

He slips it in casually one evening when they're patrolling the monastery grounds.

"Hey, Boss?"

"Yes?" Yuri's not looking at him, staring instead at the horizon they can see from the walls. The war seems to skirt the monastery, though sometimes they can catch glimpses of distant Empire troops marching towards Faergus.

"So were you really holding hands and stargazing with Hapi a while back?"

His tone is light, but Yuri still looks at him like he's preparing for a battle.

"Yes," he says plainly. "Does that upset you?"

He shrugs. "Not really, no. I like Hapi."

He still looks suspicious. "You like her, huh? And if I told you I wanted to do more than just hold hands with her?"

"Well, are you going to?"

They're at a stalemate. Yuri's looking at him like there's a right or wrong answer. He ups the ante.

"Would you be upset if I told you that I've had feelings for Constance?"

If anything, he looks pleased and amused. It confirms his suspicions that Yuri had been thinking of their Sedoretu chances as well. He's not going to say the big S-word here and now, but he files the thought away for later.

"Are you suggesting we expand our romantic circle?"

"I'm letting you know that I don't mind if you want Hapi."

"Then I also don't mind if you want to pursue Constance. I just wish you good luck."

"Okay. Well… good."

"Good," Yuri agrees.

They lapse into an awkward silence. The fields around the monastery are deserted. Nothing but crows disturb the twilight. Balthus coughs.

"So, Boss. I'm seeing a lack of threats out here."

"So am I."

"So, seeing as it's just us out here - can I suck you off now?"

Yuri laughs, then, bright and pure, but most importantly, he doesn't say no.

He's more aware of the little dance they do after that. Hapi is so controlled - out of deadly necessity - that it's hard to read her thoughts clearly, but he thinks she's happy. He leaves them to it. Now that he's gotten Yuri to admit that they're dating, at least, he's less insecure. Hapi might possibly get a softer and more romantic Yuri, but he's got his own Yuri, and he wouldn't trade him for anything. 

It's Constance who seems bothered by the affair. He catches her looking between them with an unreadable frown. He feels bad. He's not sure why. 

She accompanies him on a trip out to the nearest farms to barter some crafted goods and pelts in exchange for flour and essentials to keep the residents of Abyss fed through the winter. The underground merchants are in charge of the bartering. He's just there to punch away any beasts, bandits, or renegade troops that might see a couple of wagons as easy pickings. He's glad Constance came, too. He's beefy, but he can only do so much alone. Nothing like a Bolting in the ass to send ruffians running.

He tells Constance that, but she's in her sun mood, so she doesn't appreciate the humor.

"Come on, Coco, lighten up," he tries. The merchants and farmers are haggling now, and there's not much for the muscle to do until they start loading goods up.

"My apologies for disturbing you," she mumbles for the thirtieth time. "I fear my attitude cannot improve, and I can only be a bother to you and everyone. I will endeavor most heartily to ease the burden of my presence on you."

"Come on, I didn't say that." He sighs heavily and sits beside her in the yellowing autumnal grass. "Why'd you come on this trip if you knew we'd be in the sun all day?"

"This insignificant one hoped to be of some minuscule use to you and the residents of Abyss in whatever limited capacity. These supplies are far more important than the singular life of one such as I, and it would cause insurmountable grief to persons far more esteemed than I if you should fall victim to violence while out supporting our home."

“I appreciate that, I guess.” He scratches at one of his sideburns. “I just hate it when you get like this. It’s a real bummer.”

“I apologi-”

“No, no, I got it. It’s fine.”

Constance deflates more beside him. He points out some cardinals in the bushes, but as usual, sun-Constance is too gloomy to appreciate it. He feels another sigh coming.

“I’m glad you and Hapi aren’t fighting anymore,” he tries again.

“In all of her mercy and wisdom, Hapi decided not to waste her precious energy on managing my own pathetic romantic affairs. It was with only a few paltry kisses and embraces that she deemed my affections rightfully inferior and moved her attention to our dearest leader. I have been left adrift and alone, as is my place that I am fortunate to occupy.”

The news is dropped in such a matter-of-fact way that it takes a full minute for Balthus to realize what she’d just admitted. He feels his jaw drop.

“Wait, you and Hapi kissed?”

“That is correct.”

“Oh,” he says dumbly. “Are you… okay?”

Constance deflates even more. She’s practically a sagging puddle of misery at this point. He scoots on his butt closer and pulls her to lean on his shoulder. She doesn't resist, and he quietly enjoys her small weight against him even if the context is less-than-ideal.

"I am suffering no less than I deserve," she says grimly, "It was presumptuous of me to inflict myself upon her. She is as gloriously beautiful and sweet as the sun, while I am a mere shade cast by her light. And who am I to compare to Yuri? He is as delicate as a plum blossom and yet as deadly as an adder. It is fate that the two should entwine. I merely grieve for you, Balthus, for you deserve better than to share the greatest depths of misery with one so vile as myself."

"I think you've got the wrong idea." He scratches his scruff again. "Look, it's impossible to talk to you when you're like this. Maybe we can talk about it back in Abyss, alright? I hate watching you beat yourself up like this."

"I apologize-"

"No, seriously, stop."

Constance disappears as soon as they descend back into Abyss. He would follow, but they have flour and goods to unload, so he leaves it be. If she really wants to talk, he’s sure he’ll see her again soon. Instead he puts his muscles to use and hauls in the heaviest goods for the merchants. They pay him in a free meal and beer at the Wilted Rose, so it’s not a wasted day. The supplies they have now will last them through the winter. The war’s been a stalemate for the past three years, so he’s not expecting a big change with the spring. Whenever the tides turn, it’ll probably be from something amazing and big, like the Goddess returning or something.

He shakes the thought off, because it usually leads to wondering and worrying about their old classmates. He’s in frequent contact with Holst and Hilda, so he knows they’re fine. Lysithea slips him a letter here and there as well. As for the rest of them, he knows only rumors. It does no good to worry. Even the Unrelenting King of Grappling can’t change the tide of battle alone. His talents are put to better use in Abyss.

It’s late when he retires to the little room he calls his own. He’s not in the mood to sleep in the men’s quarters, and when he’d checked in with Yuri, he’d indicated that he was spending the night with Hapi. He was happy to just go back to his little room and drink a bit of the bottle he had socked away before he caught a few hours of sleep. 

He isn’t terribly surprised by the knock on his door. It still makes him leap from his bed and into an unarmed fighting pose, but the adrenaline fades almost as soon as it appears. The door opens to none other than Constance. She seems nervous.

“Hello, Balthus. Do you mind terribly if I come in?”

“No, of course not. Come on in. Sorry I don’t really have chairs… or any furniture for that matter.”

She waves off his concerns and perches on the edge of the bed. The dainty move is a bit ruined by his droopy mattress. She makes a face.

“Tomorrow, we’re stuffing this with fresh straw,” she states, “And washing the cover while we’re at it. You really live like this?”

He shrugs. “I’ve slept in worse places.”

“Yes, but you can certainly do better.” She sniffs and changes the subject. “I didn’t come here to lecture you about your deplorable living conditions.”

“Thanks for that,” he says. He’s not sure if she catches the sarcasm. 

He sits beside her, dipping the bed down and causing her to tip over into his shoulder. She melts into his side for one beautiful moment before she pushes off and straightens up with flustered dignity.

“I recollect that you brought up certain topics this afternoon that warranted a more thorough discussion,” she says.

“I’m glad you didn’t forget. You get kind of weird when you’re in the sun.”

“That is an understatement.” She smooths her hands down over her skirt and pretends to be absorbed in the movement. Her face is pink. “I believe you said something about how I had ‘gotten the wrong idea’?”

“Yeah, that.” He chuckles a little. “I don’t want you to think that Yuri’s cheating on me with Hapi. He and I talked about it and I told him I didn’t have a problem if he decided to go for it. I didn’t know she’d been kissing you, though.”

Constance flushes a deeper red. Her voice is an uncharacteristically small squeak. “It was only a few times, I assure you.”

“Hey, I have no problem with it. Sorry you and Hapi didn’t talk about it, though. Seems pretty rough. Maybe if you do talk about it, I should come along. If Hapi sighs, she could bring a bunch of beasts out. I wouldn’t want to leave you girls out there with the beasties.”

“Or you wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to punch them,” she snips. She doesn’t look up from her hands. “So you’re really fine with Yuri pursuing a romance with Hapi?”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s tough. Yuri and Hapi both aren’t the chattiest bunch, so getting them to tell me when they’re going to disappear for a while is driving me a little crazy. But hey, Yuri’s happy, and it’s not too different from the past couple of years except we get to cuddle more now. Plus,” he adds slyly, “he gave me permission to pursue another Evening girl that I’ve been interested in.”

Constance blanches. “Oh. So you’re making Sedoretu, then.”

“Not officially. I mean, marriage is kind of a big step. We’re just having fun, trying to be happy.”

Her shoulders hunch inward. If he didn’t know better, he’d think sun-Constance was back. 

“So this Evening girl… have you told her how you feel yet?”

“Not yet. But I’d like to.” 

He reaches out and lightly brushes her cheek with the backs of his fingers. She raises her head slowly to meet his eyes. He feels like the worst kind of cad. She’s so young and naive, and he’s a lech, but Goddess, he thinks he loves her. 

“Balthus?”

“It’s you, Constance.” He pulls his fingers away from her face. She leans into it, her eyelashes fluttering. “I didn’t know how to bring it up. I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Why would I be uncomfortable?” She seems honestly confused.

“Well, look at me.” He gestures to himself and the shoddy room as a whole. “I’m a big guy, and even I know I’m a little rough. I mean, I fistfight bears for fun, and I can’t leave Abyss without running into people out to kill me. I’m also quite a bit older than you. I don’t want you to think I’m some pervert.”

“Oh,” she says, “Balthus, I’ve never felt uncomfortable around you.”

"Yeah, right."

"No, really," she says emphatically, "You may be a bit of a rough-and-tumble sort of brute-"

"Ouch."

"-but you're really quite a sweet and gentle man." 

"Ah… thanks." He feels himself flush.

"Really, the fact that you worry for my safety and, uh, virtue -" she blushes somehow even redder - "is a testament to your upstanding moral center. I do greatly appreciate it, though I admit to some frustration that the three of you act as if I cannot be trusted to make up my own mind."

"Oh?"

"Just because I am less experienced in matters of - of love and physical expression does not mean that I am some simpering maiden to be protected and coddled. I have desires as well."

She leans closer to him. This close, he can see the lines of her delicately-applied makeup around her eyes. He licks his lips, and her eyes follow the motion. Oh, he's in deep now.

"Desires?" 

His brain seems to have left the room at some point. All he can do is stare at this beautiful young woman who's red as a tomato and looking as determined as a soldier marching into battle. She turns her body to lean closer to him. The angle is a little awkward as they're sitting side by side, but he doesn't dare move and scare her off. She braces herself with a hand on his shoulder and leans in to press her lips against his. 

He closes his eyes and lets her take the lead. He's afraid to be too assertive. She's so young, and she kisses with a shyness that betrays just how inexperienced she is. Had she ever kissed a man before? He's thinking too much. She pulls away slowly, and he opens his eyes to her face peering at him hopefully. He smiles, and she seems to melt with relief.

"That was nice," he tells her.

"Well, I should hope so." She seems pleased with herself, however.

"Here, can I-?"

He gently pulls her up and around to sit sideways on his lap. She puts her arms around his neck without prompting, and he enjoys just holding her close for a moment. He could definitely get used to this. She leans in again, and he indulges her with another slow kiss.

He can't help but grin and ask, "Is this more to your desires?"

"It is nice," she says slowly. "There is… more… that I had thought about." She buries her face in his neck with a tiny embarrassed squeak. Her cheek is hot against his skin.

He pats her back and hides a grin in her hair. "Hey, it's okay. Nothing to be embarrassed about. And nothing we have to rush into, either. We got time."

"And if I did? Want to rush into it, that is?"

The Goddess is testing him. He squeezes his eyes closed with a raggedly-drawn breath. He struggles to remain firm.

"Then I would still take it slow," he says, grateful that she can't see his face and how thinly his restraint is held together. "At least until we get a chance to clear things up with Hapi and Yuri. I wouldn't want to make anybody more confused or upset. Plus, there's, uh, other things that you and I have to worry about that don't apply with just you and Hapi."

"I suppose you have a point," she says. She pulls back to search his face. Her eyes settle on his lips. "Perhaps, though, we may continue kissing?"

"You know, that's actually not a bad idea."

He pulls her gently down with him and devotes himself to kissing her silly. She's an eager student, and he finally sends her on her way to the women's quarters with his self-control in fine tatters. The only thing keeping him from just going completely wild is how guilty he'd be if she ended up pregnant all because he couldn't wait until they'd discussed birth control options. No, he would wait until he could be responsible, and first, that meant getting Hapi and Constance to talk to each other.

He settles into his sagging mattress and nods to himself. He'd try to catch some uneasy sleep, and deal with the rest of them tomorrow.


End file.
